Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel platform, takes a trip back in time to look at some of the most loved staycations, eats and activities this past year. The onset of the pandemic has had a profound impact on travel and tourism. Despite COVID-19 concerns, 65 percent of Australian travellers are still dreaming about travel and looking for what’s safe and available in their own backyards.
In line with the easing of lockdown measures and reopening of many local businesses in Australia, recent Tripadvisor site data shows that domestic bookings have increased to well above 2019 pre-pandemic levels. Our search data has shown that despite not being able to travel, our travellers are still researching, saving, exploring and dreaming about their next trip, outing or activity for when it’s safe again.
This year, we pulled the top trending searches in the Hotels, Restaurants and Attractions categories, looking for the most loved by locals. These businesses were chosen by an algorithm that takes into account bubble ratings and the number of reviews a business received from domestic reviewers in 2020.
From city-wide lockdowns to inter-state travel restrictions, it comes as no surprise that Australians want to be outside this year. In Australia, trips and activities that take place in the great outdoors came up as some of the most searched for categories. A recent Tripadvisor traveller survey found that 42% of Australian travellers are most likely to pick outdoor and nature type destinations as compared to pre-pandemic. Here are the top 10 campgrounds and parks that were most loved by locals this year:
| Top 10 Campgrounds
Most loved by locals in 2020 |
Top 10 Parks
Most loved by locals in 2020 |
| 1. Dongara Tourist Park
2. Broken Hill Tourist Park 3. Caloundra Waterfront Holiday Park 4. Bukirk Glamping 5. Ingenia Holidays South West Rocks 6. BIG4 Emu Beach Holiday Park 7. Rawnsley Park Station 8. Ingenia Holidays One Mile Beach 9. BIG4 Whitsundays Tropical Eco Resort 10. Tallebudgera Creek Tourist Park |
1. South Bank Parklands
2. Kings Park and Botanic Garden 3. Paronella Park 4. Oxley Scenic Lookout 5. Flinders Chase National Park 6. Roma Street Parkland 7. Cook Park 8. Queens Park Botanic Gardens 9. Laurel Bank Park 10. Islands Caravan Park |
With the great outdoors come the country’s favorite pastime, Australian barbecue. Having been through nearly a year of safe distancing and isolation, searches for local barbecue fare has been on the rise. This particular cuisine typically calls for a gathering of friends and family – something the pandemic has put a damper on this year. Check out the top 10 barbecue restaurants that were most loved by locals this year:
- Brazilian Flame Bar and Grill
- The Bootlegger Bar
- Stonegrill Restaurant
- Mika Airlie Bbq & Bar
- B’Churrasco Adelaide
- Meet
- Ribs and Rumps
- Kin Japanese B.B.Q
- Sneaky Pickle
- Bondi Grill’e
“Between the bushfires and global pandemic, 2020 has indeed been a tough year for Australians, especially those who have had to cancel trips and shelve travel plans. It’s definitely great to see that despite the limitations of travel, Australians are still actively supporting local businesses and out discovering what’s in and around the city,” said Jane Lim, VP for Global Markets at Tripadvisor. “While a lot remains unknown in the year ahead, we remain hopeful and positive that travel will recover and we will all come back to travel safely.”
Methodology
- 2020 travel destinations based on Tripadvisor platform data for domestic travel to popular destinations in Australia from 1 January – 30 November 2020.
- Travel trends based on a Tripadvisor Traveler Sentiment Survey of Australian respondents from October 16-20, 2020.
